Wokingham sits to the west of London on the edge of Windsor Great Forest. Originally settled by an Anglo-Saxon tribe called the Wocingas, the town grew during the medieval period with a church dedicated in 1190, a weekly market and two annual fairs. In the fifteenth century, the town boasted a bell foundry, but its nascent prosperity was curtailed when over half of the houses were burnt down during the English Civil War. Wokingham has seen bull baiting, highwaymen and a proliferation of beer houses. The town's people have played their part in the First and Second World Wars, and seen their town expand and develop while retaining over 150 listed buildings. The town's rich history is interwoven with the history of England; this is a story of good times and bad, from the Normans to the Victorians to the present day. Wokingham is the quintessential English county town.
